"Bears!" shrieked Jasper Grinder, and turned as pale as death. "Oh, somebody
save me!" He wanted to run, but he was in such a tremble he could not, and sank
on his knees in the snow in terror.

Crack! It was the report of John Barrow's rifle, and one of the bears was hit
full in the left eye. Crack! went the piece Dick carried, and the other bear was
hit in the neck. Then Tom fired the shotgun which had been found on Jasper
Grinder, and the bear Dick had hit was wounded in the side.

Of course there followed a terrible uproar, and in a twinkle both bears left the
pile of rocks and came toward those who had wounded them. The one that had been
wounded in the eye was mortally hit, however, and staggered in a heap before he
had gone ten paces.

But the second bear was full of fight, and his course was directly for Tom.
Before the lad could run the beast was almost on top of him.

And then he dodged behind some nearby brush. But the bear was almost as quick,
and ran directly into the brushwood, to face him on the opposite side.

By this time John Barrow had the rifle reloaded, and now he skirted the
brushwood, followed by Dick. Crack! went the rifle again, just as bruin was
about to pounce upon Tom. But the bullet merely clipped the hair on the bear's
back, and in a twinkle the beast was on Tom and had the lad down.

With his heart in his throat, Dick made a leap with the shotgun. Bang! went the
piece, when he was not over three yards from the bear. The charge entered the
beast's ear, and with a snort he rolled over and over in the snow, sending it
flying in every direction.

Freed of the bear, Tom lost no time in scrambling to his feet. Soon the
struggles of the beast ceased, and they knew he was either dying or dead. To
make sure, John Barrow stepped in, hunting knife in hand, and plunged the blade
into his throat. Then the other bear was served in the same fashion.

The fight had been of short duration, yet the peril had been extreme, and after
it was over poor Tom found he could scarcely stand. Dick led him to a rock and
set him down, asking him if he was hurt.

"I got a scratch on the arm, but I reckon it's not much," was the faint answer.
"But it was a close call, wasn't it?"

"Those bears must have been awfully hungry, or they wouldn't have put up such a
fight," said the guide. "Their being at the cache proves they wanted food."

"Well, we've got the food now," returned Dick grimly. "We'll have all the bear
steaks and roasts anybody wants."

"Yes, and I can tell you a juicy steak will just be boss!" put in Sam
enthusiastically.

It was seen that Tom was hurt more than he cared to admit, and the others lost
no time in building a big camp-fire, that they might warm themselves, while Dick
took off his brother's coat, rolled up his shirt-sleeves, and bandaged an ugly
scratch with a bit of linen.

"You can help here," said John Barrow to Jasper Grinder. "I'll fix it as your
duty to keep the fire a-goin'. There is a hatchet and there is the brushwood.
Don't let the fire go down, or I'm afraid there won't be enough heat for cooking
your supper." And the guide smiled grimly.

At this indirect threat Jasper Grinder scowled. But he did not dare to complain,
and was soon at work cutting brushwood and dragging it to the spot.

"Gosh, but he's not used to hard work," was Sam's whispered comment. "I'll wager
he doesn't like that for a cent."

"It's time he was set to work doing something," answered Dick. "It will keep him
from getting into mischief."

As late as it was, and although all were tired out from their long walk through
the deep snow, they found it necessary to construct some shelter for the night.
The guide located a number of cedars growing close together, and this spot was
cleaned out and made as comfortable as circumstances permitted. The fire was
shoved over to the new location, and then John Barrow cut up one of the bears
and procured a big juicy steak for supper. It is needless to say that all
enjoyed the treat set before them, even Jasper Grinder eating his full share.

"We'll hang the meat up on a tree," said John Barrow. "If we don't some hungry
foxes or other wild animals will surely be after it." And procuring the
necessary ropes, he flung them over some limbs and all hauled the carcasses up,
Tom, of course, being excused from the task, because of his wounded arm.

The wind had gone down, and when all retired within the shelter not a sound but
the merry crackling of the fire broke the stillness around them. In front of the
camp was a long stretch of the pond, now thickly covered with snow; in the rear
a slope of a mountain, rock-ribbed and covered with cedars and hemlock. To the
left was located one of the branches of the river and a hundred yards distant
was a second branch.

At first John Barrow had thought to set a guard for the night, but as the spot
seemed free from danger for the time being, this was dispensed with, and all
went to bed, to sleep soundly until sunrise.

"And now for the treasure hunt!" cried Sam, who was among the first to awaken.
"It's just a perfect day, and we ought to accomplish a good deal, if we set to
work right after breakfast."

He talked freely, for Jasper Grinder was still asleep--snoring lustily in a
corner of the shelter. John Barrow was already outside, boiling coffee, broiling
another bear steak, and preparing a pot of beans for cooking. He had likewise
set some bread for raising.

"Goin' to give you a breakfast as is a breakfast," said the guide; with a broad
smile. "Reckon all of you are ready for it, eh?"

"I am," said Dick. "Phew! but this mountain air does give one a tremendous
appetite!"

While Jasper Grinder still slept Dick brought forth the precious map and studied
the description, and also the translation of the French text into English, which
Randolph Rover had made for them.

"'To find the box of silver and gold, go to where Bear Pond empties into Perch
River,'" he read. "Well, we are at this spot, or, at least, at one of the spots.
It may mean this branch, and it may mean one of several others."

"We can try one branch after another," put in Sam. "Go on with the description."

"'Ten paces to the west is a large pine tree which was once struck by
lightning,'" continued Dick. He looked around. "I don't see any tree like that
around here."

"You must remember, my lad, that that writin' was put down years ago," said John
Barrow. "More'n likely if the tree was struck an' blasted, it's fallen long ago,
and the spring freshets carried it down the river."

"That's true," said Sam, with a falling look. "But, anyway, we ought to be able
to locate the stump."

Nevertheless, he too went forward, and they soon beheld Sam floundering in snow
up to his neck. He had stepped into a hollow between the rocks, and it took him
some time to extricate himself from the unpleasant position.

"Oh, my, what a bath!" he exclaimed ruefully, as he tried to get the snow from
out of his collar and his coat-sleeves. "I--I didn't think of a pitfall like
that!"

"You want to be careful how you journey around here," cautioned John Barrow. "If
that hollow had been twice as deep the snow might have smothered you to death."

"I will be careful," answered Sam. "I don't want any more snow down my back and
up my coat-sleeves," and he hurried back to the camp-fire to warm himself.

By this time Tom was outside, and he was followed by Jasper Grinder, and
presently all sat down close to the blaze to enjoy the generous breakfast the
guide had provided. Tom said that his arm was a little stiff, but that otherwise
he felt as well as ever.